Elijah is home! The trip went well overall. LONG FLIGHT! We got there Monday night (July 19) late and met Elijah first thing the next morning. He was with us from then on. Wow! It seemed like this long awaited journey finally came to the moment we'd been waiting for. We prepared for the worst...screaming, scared, running away, confusion. John walked in his room and he ran to him and gave him a hug. His caregiver coached him and he began calling us Mommy and Daddy right away. He was excited to leave with us, and got upset when he felt we were going to leave without him. We prayed for his little heart to be prepared to meet us and know us, and it was as if he immediately did. He was holding the bear and album we had mailed him a few months ago and really seemed to comprehend we were the family in the pictures, the family that God had chosen for him. The week in Ethiopia was pretty good. We found out quickly that he was potty trained and loved food! yay! He began repeating English within the hour he was with us. The director and his wife told us that he was their favorite little boy and he was very sociable. They were right about the sociable part. We'd spend nights at the guest house in the other couples' rooms and he was the show. :) hmmm.... sounds like another little boy we know. The flight home went pretty smooth as well. He cried twice because he was sleepy, but fell asleep within 5-10 minutes.
Finally, we arrived home to Springfield at 5:00 Tuesday evening (26th). When we got in the car, he began crying because he was pretty freaked out about the carseat. yeah, no carseats in Ethiopia. It didn't last long. The first thing we did was....go through Dairy Queen drive through. Awww... a cheeseburger never tasted so good. Elijah loved the chicken strips and gravy. We missed Manning dearly so we asked Ginger to bring him home that night. They arrived after Elijah was asleep. It was so good to see his little smile and know he was ok. Grandparents are awesome. He wanted to see Elijah, so we let him take a flashlight in his room to look at him while he was sleeping.
The next morning Manning woke up first and when Elijah woke up they just kind of stared at each other. And, here's where the adjusting began. Let's just say it's been a tough 3 weeks. Not sure we could've fully comprehended what it meant to have a 2 year old and a 3 year old all of a sudden before we actually had a 2 year old and a 3 year old. Each week has been better. Lots of fighting over the same toy, whining, chasing, throwing, biting, and timeouts has been the story for the last few weeks. We are confident that soon they will learn that being friends is much easier.
We are happy Elijah's home. We are thankful for all of your prayers. He truly has a sweet spirit and we can already see ways that he fits the mold of our family so well.
He's beautiful! May God richly bless your family as you seek to do His will in your lives and the lives of your children.
ReplyDeleteLindsey! Everytime I read something about this process I am in tears!! How sweet that he just ran to John and hugged him immediately! God is so amazing! Your faith inspires me and your trust in the Lord. I love you friend. And I'll be praying about the "brotherly adjustment" ha!!
ReplyDeletePraise God another orphan rescued through a willing famiy! I have been checking in periodically and last time I checked you guys were still "waiting"...Congratulations..."Physical" adoption is the best thing that's ever happened to our family and has taught us so much more deeply our "spiritual" adoption into God's family...We have just started round two of foster adopting...Fear, uncertiancy, inadequacy, and more flood our hearts, but helps us to cling closely to the throne of grace! ~Fellow pilgrim
ReplyDeletehi! i happened to hear your song on youtube and followed the link to your blog. praise the lord for your adoption!! i loved reading through your journey. my husband and i have three boys and are in the process of adopting a little girl through the foster care system. i can totally relate to the waiting process. its excruciating at times, and at the same time such a learning experience. we have always talked about adopting from ethiopia, so after this adoption we want to start that process. thanks for sharing your journey! congratulations on your new beautiful little boy!
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